Jamal’s Real Talk Q&A

Welcome to our first Question and Answer session for the currently running story arc (which begins here). I’m really eager to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you have.

The way this works is you will need to post your questions as comments to this post. You can do so anonymously or you can register with the site. Also I”ll be moderating any questions before they appear in the comments section (to prevent trolling) and approving them as quickly as possible. The Q&A will remain open through the rest of the story arc (and for a brief period afterward) so feel free to take your time. Once I feel we’ve gathered enough questions I’ll answer them to the best of my ability and post the results here and on Facebook.

About Jamal: Let’s face it, he looks older than his actual age. The hairline and forehead-wrinkles fool me on the regular. Was this done to emphasize his jaded, worldly-wise take on things (a kid reacting like an adult and not like a child is a humour staple, after all), or was there another reason for his appearance?

Early in this story arc, when the cop approaches them, the tone is humorous and still has punch lines (the cop thinking about how he’s definitely winding up on YouTube, f’rex). Did you decide partway through to make it a serious storyline, or was this a deliberate artistic choice to emphasize the horror of what came next?

Me, I’m wondering if and how other peoples perceptions have changed over the years and what comes up for you in personal situations of bigotry/predujice/racism?

The last few years, among other things, I have really surprised myself with all the ways I contribute to systemic racism without even knowing it.
Starting with an example of something that seems fairly minor ( though every brick in the wall counts, does it not?) I have been purging my vocabulary and am surprised at all the things I say, that were picked up in childhood and passed on from family and friends, that are steeped in racism. I parroted these words and phrases, not even realizing they were racist and, when saying them, had no intention of being racist or even simply a jerk. They were just turns of phrase, plain and simple, no ill intent, and yet, there they were, ignorance or not, they were still cutting.

One such phrase might go like: “hey bro, what’s up? Haven’t seen you in a ‘coons age!”
It was years before the light went on and I realized this saying was not referring to the life span of a raccoon, but was a derogatory term. Facepalm!

This brings up another question as to how real and graphic I/we can be with our language here. For me, it is about intention. If I use a word here that I wouldn’t use in normal conversation, it is for clarity, not for slander, but I understand how others may feel differently. Should we censor ourselves?

Just to quickly answer your question in language. I would encourage everyone to avoid profanity but wouldn’t want you to sensor ideas. I don’t shy away from the occasional curse word. Just use your best judgement and keep in mind how you want to represent yourself.

Gravatar is just an avatar service. Once you’ve set up an account and chosen an image you’ll automatically have an avatar on all sites that employ it. WordPress and the Like. It’s a bit of a hassle but you can set it and forget it.

This has been a hard arc for me to read. Just wanted to ask if you put it out there as a way to communicate what the reality of life is for people of color or more of a personal motivator for Jamal and his future as the comic progresses. I’m a middle aged white woman who sometimes needs reminding that the world I experience is not the same for everyone. Just a personal anecdote, my black friend and I were coming out of our building after work and we saw a white security officer “dealing” with what appeared to be a very agitated black man. We both watched the interaction as the man ended up walking away. In my mind I was thinking “thank goodness the security guy was there to deal with the situation.” But my friend said she was paying close attention because she wanted to make sure the officer didn’t do anything to harm him. We saw the same thing, but we didn’t perceive it the same way at all. It really made me think, as does your comic strip.

Jan, I think you’ll see that there never was a “cop’s” side. It would be nice, though, if he does reappear later and becomes a bit more fleshed-out and human. At the moment, he’s too much of a one-dimensional stereotype. I’m hoping he turns out to be Jermaine’s girlfriend’s grandfather.

Been reading this since the beginning and I think it is great! Want it to be a big success but it seems like you may not be shooting for mainstream acceptance. One thing that has stuck out to me is every single white character has either been clueless or a total jerk. My question is are you trying to alienate white readers or is that simply a reflection of your worldview? Definitely encountered my fair share of white racist but also lots of cool white people too. Keep up the great work this is an important comic that needs to be out there!

As commented by Mo Tom and Joy-I think most people are clueless about other races/cultures. My grandfather was somewhat to the right of Archie Bunker and that was mostly what I heard and accepted as fact when I was young. I think we are making slow progress but still have a long way to go in that more people are at least cluing in to the fact that racist or ethnic jokes are no longer acceptable-I heard tons of them as a kid but rarely hear them now. The mainstream media contributes to the divisions by emphasizing the outliers; e.g. black violence, white racism and not on collaboration and cooperation. As Grace noted above, we view events through our own “filters” almost as a knee jerk event, and frequently do not stop to think how others may perceive the same event.

As mentioned in the GoComics comments, I keep feeling like everything is happening in a vacuum. To be more precise, it’s like everything is happening on a theater stage, or on a scripted TV show, and we as the audience are being distanced from the events in the story itself. By only showing little vignettes of the isolated direct family members, minus any other relatives, friends, or social media (no protestors, no support systems, no reporters asking for the family’s side of the story, nothing happening on social media (even after the cop told them to record and post him online)), the strip feels like it’s operating in a bubble, and I don’t have an emotional investment in the characters. Is this intentional? And is it a prelude to writing Cody and the rest of his family out of the story?

I’m really curious to hear more about these clues when the arc is done. Are earrings involved?

I do feel a bit derpy for not catching on to what was happening at some point before now, but the impact is especially amazing in terms of how long it went on (and to realize that it all occurred in a matter of seconds in her mind, as these things do).

It’s also interesting to think about the other apparent “inconsistencies” with reality (flatline and no crash cart!) that are coming into focus now with this revelation too.

Tauhid, I love the expressions on mom’s face in the Friday (11/24) strip. Absolutely beautifully done! They capture her thoughts perfectly (in my opinion). I also love the cop’s reaction…

Not that it matters, but I may have encountered this cop back when he was a lot younger. I was on a 100-mile charity bike ride outside of Austin, TX, about 13-14 years ago. It was the first Lance Armstrong Ride for the Roses ride (before he got busted for doping), and there must have been 5,000 riders on the route. I got about to the 50-mile mark, and a State Trooper pulled over me and the 2-3 other riders I was with, and demanded to know who the ride organizers were. Seemed that someone that lived nearby had spray painted a little graffiti (the outline of a penis) on the county road black top, and this Trooper wanted to shut everything down until the vandal was brought to justice (the paint color was similar to the paint used by the organizers for putting down direction arrows at intersections). The group of riders I was in just happened to be nearby when the Trooper saw the paint. He was about 35, maybe 5’4″, no body mass, with the mirrored glasses and big black moustache. He kept strutting around with his hand on his holster, looking like a little rooster. His female partner was maybe 4″ taller than him, and she just shook her head behind his back. Eventually, we talked him into visiting the house nearest the paint, and that was the last of it. One of the other riders commented on armed authority figures suffering from “a little man complex.”

This has felt wrenching for me, an older white woman. I get a bit frustrated when people want the cop’s side, because I feel that is 90% of what we get in reporting. I have come to recognize that calling police if a young black man is around may end in a fatality. I need to be very thoughtful about when it is appropriate to call police. It is so helpful for me to see through a different filter than what I was raised with. Thank you so much for Jamal and his family.

The recent mall incident in Alabama illustrates the pitfalls of the public’s expectations of immediate disclosure before all of the facts are known. The misidentification of a shooting victim as a shooter and the subsequent outrage may be a result of people wanting to know information before all of the facts are available. Then once there is a clarification or correction people become outraged and claim they were lied to or there is a cover-up. So far, I have not heard whether the officers involved were black or white or whether the victim (who reportedly had a concealed carry permit for his own protection) was brandishing a gun. Unless an individual is intimately involved in a case; e.g. immediate family member, there is no reason to demand the facts immediately after an event. Recent event in my community involved a home invasion with three killed-victims names had not been released pending notification of families but one of their “friends” blasted a name all over Facebook because it was his buddy and he felt the public had a right to know before the family. People wanting to get information that doesn’t directly affect them personally without allowing a reasonable (48-72 hours) timeframe for investigation are little more than gossip mongering agitators who are focused more on stoking their own importance than on the truth.